Crossover Kids

In the US more and more children are defining themselves as transgender, throwing up a number of complex questions. Following first-grader Coy Mathis, this report investigates the world of transgender kids.

She likes dressing up, gravitates towards the colour pink, and enjoys playing with her dolls…but Coy was born a boy. For kids like Coy, living as the other gender can end years of unhappiness and feelings of “being born into the wrong body”. Yet transgender communities face deep social stigma and discrimination in the US. So how young is too young to change sex?

Jeannette Francis investigates the complex and fascinating world of transgender children.

Backed by medical experts, a growing number of parents in the United States are allowing their kids to live openly as the other gender. For the children involved, the switch can end years of unhappiness and feelings of being trapped in the wrong body. But like other members of the transgender community, they can face deep social stigma and discrimination. So how young is too young to change sex?